National Library Week is celebrated every year in April. It aims to commemorate the contributions of libraries and library workers. It also promotes the use of libraries and for people to continually support them. Libraries just offer a lot of opportunities for us – children can learn the basics, entrepreneurs can find useful business tactics, students can research, and a lot more.
About the National Library Week
During the National Library Week, people conduct various activities that let them achieve the purposes or objectives of this week. For one, people visit the nearest library so that they may spend some of their days during the week in this great source of knowledge. Other people also celebrate this day by giving a gift or treating a librarian, especially during National Library Workers Day.
History
In 1954 a nonprofit National Book Committee was established between the ALA and the American Book Publishers. In 1957 the committee developed the idea for National Library Week, hoping that it would motivate people to read and to support libraries. The theme of the first sponsored National Library Week in 1954 was “Wake Up and Read!”
Dates
The upcoming National Library Week will be held from April 19 to 25. The theme for National Library Week is ” Find Your Place at the Library.” Olympic medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani will serve as the National Library Week Honorary Chairs.
Why Celebrate
The following are the main reasons why you should participate in the celebration of National Library Week:
Read Also: International Buy Book Day
To Appreciate Libraries
One good reason to celebrate this week is that this can be a good opportunity for you to appreciate libraries. Most of the time, people fail to realize how important libraries are. They just hold a great amount of knowledge in different fields or aspects of life. This fact is indeed astounding and amazing and one good reason why you should really celebrate this day.
To Read Books
You should also celebrate this week because it can be a good time for you to finally have the time to read the books that you are yearning to read. This day can be your excuse to give yourself a time to relax and read your favorite books.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the National Library Week as best as it can be:
Spend Time in a Library
A good thing to do during any day of this week is to spend time in a library. Go to your local library or the one nearest you and indulge yourself in reading the books that you want to read.
Read a Book
If you don’t have the time or the means to go to the library, then you can still pay homage to the celebration by reading a book at home.
Treat the Librarian
You can also celebrate this week by treating a librarian, most preferably during the National Library Workers Day. You may want to give them a gift or treat them to lunch to express your gratitude for always being there to help you whenever you need to find a book about something.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #NationalLibraryWeek to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this event.
Quotes
- “When in doubt, go to the library.” — Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
- “I had found my religion: nothing seemed more important to me than a book. I saw the library as a temple.” — from The Words: The Autobiography of Jean-Paul Sartre
- “The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church. She pushed open the door and went in. She liked the combined smell of worn leather bindings, library past and freshly inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning incense at high mass.” — from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- “Nothing is more impotent than an unread library.” — from Role Models by John Waters
- “He loved libraries. Nowhere else in the world felt so safe and homey. Nowhere else smelled like books and dust and happy solitude quite like a library did.” — from First Kill by Heather Brewer
- “Crossing an open area like the reading area was guaranteed to draw every librarian in the building so any hypothetical reader would never get ten steps, let alone all the way to pulling out a chair and sitting down. The reading area was a beautifully crafted trap set by the librarians, but it was too perfect. Even the dumbest book lover — and anyone who would regularly choose to come in contact with books could not be a bright bulb — wouldn’t fall for this.” — from Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
- “The atmosphere of the place soothed her automatically; the rich lantern lights, the sheer scent of paper and leather, and the fact that everywhere she looked, there were books, books, beautiful books.” — from The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
- “Every time you enter a library you might say to yourself, ‘The world is quiet here,’ as a sort of pledge proclaiming reading to be the greater good.” — from The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
- “Overall, the library held a hushed exultation, as though the cherished volumes were all singing soundlessly within their covers.” — from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
- “He sat there studiously bent over his work (Bill saw him), which lay in a slant of crisp white winter light, his face sober and absorbed, knowing that to be a librarian was to come as close as any human being can to sitting in the peak-seat of eternity’s engine.” — from It by Stephen King